"There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot. These essays are the delights and dilemmas of one who cannot" - Aldo Leopold

2009/05/30

Hiking up the Tianmu "Ancient" Trail

I don't like having such a long holiday because the natural places in Taipei City that I know of and can go to are quite limited. Nevertheless, I discovered another excellent place to visit just near where I live. It's a 2.8-km trail to the mountains in northern Taipei. At the end of the trail, there are other places to visit and trails to continue. Due to time limitation, I only hiked up the short trail, and with me being a shutter bug, a relatively short hike turned out to be more than five hours journey.

The entrance to the Tian-Mu Trail, and the tropical views along the trail. Plus, you can almost see the entire urban Taipei right below you.

One of the fascinating creatures that I encountered was this stick insect! So beautiful and well-camouflaged.

Thanks to some help, its scientific name is Phraortes illepidus.

There are plenty of crevices between the rocks and boulders that they provided excellent hiding places for this Indian Forest Skink.

Such a neat find of this Sphenomorphus indicus.

An unidentified insect that I am still working on. The only thing I know is that it belongs in the Family Pentatomidae. [Edit: I think this is a Dalader formosanus.]

Hiking up the stairs with humans was this puny Blister Beetle (Epicauta hirticornis). I picked it up with a leaf and put it where it won't get stepped on.

A japalura catching a nice fat meal of some sort of a larvae. Yum.

One of the animals that I hoped to encounter but didn't was the Formosan Macaque. Maybe next time.

Some of the prettiest sights along the trail were these beautiful Lepidopterans.

Clear Sailer (Neptis nata lutatia)

Neope muirheadi nagasawae

Nyctemera adversata

One of the side trails off the main trail leads to this 4-m tall waterfall named Chui-Fong Waterfall. Not too impressive but it makes a beautiful photographic moment, especially being surrounded by a serene tropical forest.

In the evening, a couple of friends (from the Botanical Garden) and I went out for dinner together. Afterwards, we headed to Danshui to enjoy the busy night market and the views across the river.

And before you know it, another day has passed.. Time sure goes fast when you are having fun..